All's Fair
by Crazichi123
Summary: Love sees sharply, Hatred sees even more sharp, but Jealousy sees the sharpest for it is love and hate at the same time. Sakura or Sasuke? Who will Naruto choose? How will he let the other go? And what will he do when his decision changes from heartbreaking to fatal? NaruSaku vs. SasuNaru
1. Best Thing Since Ramen

**Hello! I'm back! And I know, I'm doing _way_ to many stories at once, but I can't help it. The plot bunnies _WILL NOT_ leave me alone! So enjoy my _new_ story, where Sasuke and Sakura battle for Naruto's affections!**

**Summary- ****Everyone knows of the Konoha Love Triangle. Naruto likes Sakura, Sakura likes Sasuke, Sasuke likes Naruto, but what if one day, Sakura broke this triangle? In an attempt to make Sasuke jealous, Sakura dates Naruto, but what happens when her plans backfire and she falls in love with Naruto? What will she do when she realizes Sasuke loves Naruto too? Prepare yourselves for an epic battle over the affections of an unsuspecting blond-haired ninja. All's fair in love and war. ****NaruSaku, SasuNaru.**

_**-Edit- **_

**_Hello Readers. I'm editing this chapter because I was writing chapter two when I suddenly had a revelation of sorts. I'm completely changing the course of the story, so I had to change a lot of things in the first chapter. This story will start off simple and fun, but it will get more serious as we reach the actual plot. While originally, I was just gonna wing it, now that I have altered the storyline, I have everything planned out and I really like the new plot. I hope you do too as you continue to read "All's Fair". _**

**Disclaimer: I will say this one time and one time only. All rights go to Kishimoto Masashi. Also, the image used for my story cover DOES NOT belong to me. All credits go to Mishune. **

Setting: _This takes place after the Invasion of Konoha Arc, before Sasuke leaves the village. In this fic, Sasuke never receives the curse mark._

* * *

Sakura lay on her side in her comfortable bed, contemplating the events that had taken place earlier that day. She had an ear to ear grin on her face as she remembered her most recent foolproof plan to win Sasuke's heart.

_"Naruto!" she yelled enthusiastically, waving to the blond as she arrived at their regular meeting place. She wasn't surprised to see that Kakashi had yet to come. She saw that she had interrupted a conversation between the blue-eyed knucklehead and the onyx-eyed Uchiha. _

_"Hi Sakura-chan." he said blushing, confused at her excitement to see him. She giggled before plopping herself right in between the two male genin. _

_"Naruto-kun, I have something important to tell you." she said as she batted her eyes at the whiskered boy. She could feel the Uchiha beside her glaring at her back. It easily could've been because she rudely just interrupted their conversation, but blinded by her crush, she assumed he was jealous of her flirting with Naruto instead of him, causing her to inwardly squeal._

**_"Yes! He's already getting jealous! By next week, Sasuke-kun will be mine!"_**_ cried Inner-Sakura in victory. _

_Naruto's eyes went wide with shock._

_"N-Naruto...kun?" he asked with a blush, regarding the suffix she added to his name. She nodded her head quickly before continuing. _

_"I've decided to accept your offers to take me out. I mean, I've realized you're the one who's always been there for me. Unlike some people." she said, sending a fake glare, Sasuke's way. _

_"R-really Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked happily. Sakura again nodded and his smile brightened immediately. _

_"Yeah!" he said jumping out of his seat. "I've got a date with Sakura-chan! I've got a date with Sakura-chan!" he looked back over his shoulder at her and she knew he was asking 'when'._

_"Tonight at five is good." she replied to his questioning glance. _

_"Ok! I've gotta go prepare!" he said running away happily, and she couldn't help but genuinely smile at his retreating form. It was nice to know she had that kind of effect on someone, just by saying she'd go on a date with them. _

_She ripped her gaze away from Naruto and gave a side glance at her true-love Sasuke. He sat with his arms crossed and an adorable pout on his face. It took everything in her not to lean over and hug him and say 'it's ok Sasuke-kun! Don't pout! I still love you!'. Luckily, it was at this moment that Kakashi decided to arrive in a cloud of smoke. _

_"You're late!" Sakura yelled at him, pointing an accusing finger. It wasn't the same when Naruto wasn't there doing it with her. _

_"Sorry." he said, smiling under his mask. "I saw a group of orphans sitting on the side of the street, so I decided to stop and teach them how to sing."_

_"Liar!" she shouted traditionally. But Kakashi opened his unmasked eye at only hearing one voice accusing him. "Where's Naruto?"_

Sakura's ear-to-ear grin turned into a frown as she remembered the blissfulness of Naruto's face when she had agreed to go out with him. Her gut churned with guilt, as she remembered that in comparison to how he felt, the date really meant nothing to her. Her guilt almost made her stomach hurt, but she reminded herself that it was for the sake of love.

_'Oh Great, I just realized this is going to be my first date.'_ She groaned as she realized that her first date, a milestone in her life, was going to be at Ichiraku with the baka blond, instead of somewhere romantic with the good-looking, charming, dark-haired, Uchiha. But she remembered that this was probably Naruto's first date too. She decided agreeing to go on the date just to make someone else jealous was selfish enough as it is. For his sake, the least she could do is go with a good attitude. For all she knows, she might even enjoy herself.

She looked at her clock and realized it was time to meet Naruto at Ichiraku. She sighed as she turned off the lights to her room. She ran out the house, not bothering to leave a note for her parents since they were both on some special Anbu mission.

As she walked down the streets of Konoha, the closer her steps took her to Ichiraku, the more the nerves in her stomach grew.

_'Why am I so nervous? It's only Naruto.' _she thought. It may have just been Naruto, but it was also her first date, and she couldn't help but be a bit anxious to see the blond.

She slowed down as she saw the small shop that she knew held the ramen-loving boy and his favorite food and she took a deep breath before she pushed her nerves aside and entered the shop.

"Naruto?" she said, forgetting the 'kun' as she saw him already on his fourth bowl of ramen.

"Oh hey Sakura-chan!" he said, mouth full, before swallowing the remaining ramen in his mouth. Sakura glared at him before punching him in the head.

"Baka! Don't talk with your mouth full! It's rude and you're on a date! Have a little more class, Naruto!"

"Sorry Sakura-chan." he apologized before seemingly immediately brightening up. "So what kind of ramen do you like, Sakura-chan?" she shrugged.

"I guess I'll have a vegetable ramen." she answered remembering she had to keep a trim figure so she wouldn't get as fat as Ino pig. Her mind darkened at the thought of Ino. Yes, they were technically frenemies, but most of the time the good outweighed the bad with Ino. And deep down Sakura knew Ino wasn't fat, she just needed a retaliation against the constant "billboard brow."

"Old Man! A vegetable ramen for Sakura-chan and another miso ramen for me!" Naruto yelled happily to the Ichiraku owner. Sakura was about to punch him again for being so loud, but at the last second, decided against it.

"Sure thing." the "Old Man" replied as he winked at Naruto, and in return, Naruto winked back. Sakura raised a pink eyebrow at the blonde's strange behavior, but said nothing about it.

"So Sakura?" Naruto turned to her with a genuine look of confusion on his face. "Why are you always on a diet? You're not even a little bit fat." Sakura shrugged at his question.

"Us girls have to keep our figure. You boys are lucky enough to be able to eat like your stomachs are bottomless pits and still come out with perfectly fine figures." she explained, gesturing to his fourth bowl of ramen. And that was _a third_ of what he usually ate.

"But Sakura-chan, you're already so skinny! And you're always exercising because of ninja training and missions! Not to mention you're gonna need a little meat on your bones if you're gonna be able to fight to the best of your ability."

"Are you saying I'm slowing down the team because I'm too skinny?" She accused.

"No, no! I was just saying that you're fine just the way you are and that getting any skinnier might be unhealthy!" he smiled. "I'm only looking out for you Sakura-chan!"

Sakura blushed. Due to being bullied as a child, Sakura had always been more than a little self-conscious about the way others saw her. Constantly being rejected by Sasuke on a daily basis didn't do much for her self-esteem either. But hearing Naruto say that helped her feel a little better about the way she looked.

"Thanks, Naruto." but he didn't even seem to hear her as he was smiling widely when he saw the ramen-shop owner coming back with a plate in his hands, and Sakura knew why.

"No way." she said incredelously as she sniffed the air for the wonderful smelling delicacy. Instead of vegetable ramen, the man laid in front of her a plate full of Syrup-coated Anko Dumplings.

"This is my favorite!" she exclaimed as she stared in awe at the plate. "How did you know?" she asked, looking at the hyper blonde.

"I remember you told me that when we first met." Naruto explained, his cheeks turning pink. Sakura frowned. She remembered that day.

They were five at the time and they had met in the park. No one wanted to play with Sakura because she was the big forehead girl, and no one wanted to play with Naruto because their parents told them not to. So they played with eachother. They talked and played all day. Swung on the swings, slid down the slide.

Her mother had let her play with him, but when her father found out, he forbade her from seeing him again. Sakura frowned at the memory.

"Wow Naruto, you remember from that far back?" she asked nervously. And she could barely even remember his birthday.

"Well Sakura-chan, you were one of my first friends!" he smiled. "You were special to me, and I remember things that are special." he said with a shrug.

The words sank in as she began eating her dumplings and Naruto continued to talk. While Naruto continued to ramble on about something that happened during a sparring session with him and Lee, the 'Old Man; as Naruto called him, leaned over to whisper something.

"This is a ramen shop." he pointed at the dumplings. "I made him pay extra to get me to make you those dumplings." he smiled at her warmly. "He really likes you, he talks about you and that Uchiha boy almost every day he comes here. Don't you be a fool and let him get away." His words earned him a curious look from the pink-haired kunoichi.

_'I used to think Naruto only flirted with me so he could sabotage me and Sasuke's relationship, but recently I've realized he really cares about me.'_ she thought as she watched the whisker-faced ninja ramble on. _'Maybe I should give him a chance?' _

**_'No! Remember Sasuke-kun! Remember what we're here for!' _**Inner-Sakura warned. Sakura nodded.

_'Right! I gotta remember Sasuke-kun!'_

"Old Man! What are you telling Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked when he realized Sakura's attention had shifted.

"I was just telling her if she eats that slow, her dumplings will get cold!"

"You shouldn't bother Sakura-chan, Old Man." Naruto scolded.

"Alright, I see I'm not wanted here." he said with a smile before going back to cooking. Naruto looked back over at Sakura while she finished up. He seemed like he was about to explode with joy.

"You ok there Naruto?" she asked as she saw him start to bounce in his seat.

"Yeah, I just have something really cool to show you after you're done!"

_'There's more?' _she wondered in surprise. To be honest, she hadn't expected Naruto to plan the date so extensively. She had just thought it would be a night alone with Naruto at Ichiraku for maybe an hour or so, before they would finish eating, end their awkward attempts at conversation, and go home. But Naruto was surprisingly very good at keeping up a good conversation and keeping Sakura entertained. Plus, he had surprised her with a plate full of her favorite food that she rarely got to eat. She couldn't help but be more than a little curious about what Naruto had planned next. Plus, it was both of their first date's and she wanted the night to be memorable for them _both_, she had no problem giving all his ideas a try considering the circumstances of their date even coming to be in the first place. So with those thoughts in mind, she scarfed down the rest of her dumplings and jumped up.

"Ok, I'm done."

"Yeah! Let's go!" he said. He threw the money on the table, yelled goodbye, and dragged her out the store faster than her eyes could follow. She gave a confused glance at his fifth empty bowl of ramen, wondering when he could've finished it when she thought he had been talking the whole time.

Before she knew it, she was running through the streets of Konoha heading straight for the entrance. She looked down and saw that he had grabbed her by the wrist instead of her hand.

_'That's strange.'_ she thought. _'I'd expect him to use any excuse he could to hold my hand without me punching him._

As they reached the Konoha entrance, Naruto released her wrist and gave the guards some kind of hand signal that she assumed told them where they were going. She figured they had given him some sort of thumbs up because Naruto immediately turned to the right and jumped into the trees.

As her and Naruto soared through the trees, she noticed that all the leaves were changing color. Green, orange, yellow, red. She knew they would be beautiful when she actually got the chance to stop and look at them. But now she was going at a very fast pace and only saw a blur of colors. Sakura followed close behind him, but could feel her energy draining as she struggled to keep up with the blond that had a seemingly endless supply of energy.

"Narutooo!" she whined. "Do you think we could slow down a bit?"

"Come on Sakura! We're almost there!" he called behind him. It was weird for Sakura to hear her name come out of Naruto's mouth without the 'chan'. He was probably so excited he forgot to add it.

_'This place better be worth all the hype.'_ She concluded grumpily. Just as she thought this, she heard the sound of rushing water and saw Naruto jump from a tree branch onto the ground.

"We're here!"

"It's about time! I was about to pass out!" she whined as she jumped down from the tree. "I swear, I asked for a date, not a work out sessio-" she stopped her rant, mid word, when she took in the breathtaking sight in front of her. They had stopped by a river with water clearer and bluer than she had ever seen. The cool blue contrasted greatly with the warm colors of red, orange, and yellow in theleaves of the trees. The leaves were lightly falling making the scenery all the more graceful and the sound of rushing water added to the serenity of it all. Strange, cheesy, and absolutely cliche as it was, the scene reminded her of Naruto. The way his blue eyes contrasted with his yellow hair and orange jumpsuit.

_'And that's about where the similarities end. The calmness of the scene reminds me nothing of Naruto's loud and outgoing personality.' _she thought, realizing the flaw in her comparison.

She heard a dragging sound and she looked at Naruto and saw him dragging a small wooden boat into the water. Her eyes widened, but her surprise was quickly replaced with excitement.

It was nighttime now, and the stars twinkled, brightly high above the trees. She walked over to Naruto and helped him pull the boat over the grass, jumping in when it got in the water. They sat in the boat as it calmly followed the river current. They talked for a long time and it made Sakura realize just what a funny person Naruto really was.

"Naruto, you baka! Sit down!' she yelled as she pulled him down and punched him in the head after he had randomly stood in the boat trying to look farther ahead at some unknown destination.

_'I guess this place is more like Naruto when he's asleep. That's about the only time he calms down and shuts up.'_

"Ow. Sakura-chan. You call me a baka, then you punch me in the head? Do you think that helps my brain cells?" Naruto asked.

"Are you being smart with me?" Sakura yelled angrily before looking down sadly at her red dress.

"Great, now I'm wet. I was hoping that wouldn't happen!"

"Oh. You didn't want to get wet?" Naruto rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Woops."

"What do you mean, 'woops'?" she glared at him.

The calm waters started to fade into ferocious waves. Naruto sat next to Sakura and put a hand on the bottom of the boat. Sakura looked over the side and saw that though the boat still shook violently, it merely rode on the waves, it never jumped or completely stopped touching the water.

"This is like our water walking jutsu." Sakura noticed. "You're pouring chakra into the boat so it will constantly be touching the water no matter what... but why?"

"Heh heh. Hold on tight Sakura-chan." Sakura looked up ahead and saw that there was no more river. It ended, just a few feet away, meaning...

"_Narutooo_!" She screamed as the boat suddenly tipped downward.

_'And this is more like Naruto when he's wide awake.'_

She instinctively grabbed onto Naruto, her screams and his laughter drowned out by the ferocious rushing water, and the wind flying past their ears and hitting them in the face as well as several drops of water. There was no slope, the waterfall went straight down, and they fell straight down with it, only stuck to the waterfall because of Naruto's chakra. It was a long drop, and Sakura's stomach felt light and empty, even ticklish from the feeling of freefalling. Dying was definitely _not_ in the plan when she had agreed to date Naruto.

_'I love you mommy. I love you daddy. I love you granny and grandaddy. It wasn't my fault, Naruto killed me.'_

They hit the bottom with a loud splash that completely _drenched_ the couple from head to toe.

As the boat began to steady and Sakura deemed it safe to open her eyes, she saw that she was tightly hugging Naruto's left arm for dear life, and could feel his body shaking with laughter. Her cheeks were flushed with fear. Her wet hair and clothes stuck to her skin. She shivered from the cool breeze, or maybe it was actually from absolute mortification the moment had caused. That moment that she was just falling straight down into the unforgiving waters below, the fear, the desperation... the rush.

"What'd you think Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, bright yellow hair dripping with water, drooping in front of his face, happy and smiling as if they _hadn't_ been plummeting to their deaths a few seconds ago. Sakura glared.

"What'd I think? Naruto you **_baka_**!" she said as she delivered a blow to his head. "Naruto! You could've killed us both!" This statement immediately flipped his previous grin.

"It was stupid and dangerous!" she screamed at her teammate. It suddenly sunk into her head exactly _just_ how completely reckless and life-threatening riding down a waterfall in a small wooden boat with no protection was. But her heart was racing, her adrenaline pumping, and butterflies violently attacked her stomach. After she shook off the initial shock, wiggled her fingers and toes, and saw that she had come out of the situation completely unharmed, she realized that she had genuinely had a lot of _fun_. Ever since she saw Naruto stab his hand with a kunai that day that they were guarding the bridge maker, she had always thought of him as a bit of a masochist, and she could never see how someone could get joy out of putting themselves in danger. But _this_, the rush she had just felt when her life flashed before her eyes... that was unforgettable, and now that the shock was over and no harm was done, she realized she would relive that moment a thousand times.

"And- and it was exhilarating and exciting and like nothing I've ever experienced before!" she added, her tone brightening with her most recent revelation. "Naruto, that was probably one of the best moments of my _life!_" she shook her head. "This is nothing like I imagined my first date to be, but you were able to change it and make it better than I-" she suddenly stopped and Naruto's elated expression changed into a look of concern.

"Sakura-chan?"

"I-I'm gonna be-" her words were interrupted as bile and her partially digested previous meal rose to her throat and exited from her mouth, onto the grass, and Naruto's shoe.

"Sakura-chan! Are you-" he was interrupted as deformed Syrup-coated Anko Dumplings landed at his feet for the second time.

"Naruto..." she moaned as she gripped her stomach.

**_'He ate five bowls of ramen! Why isn't he getting_ _sick?' _**cried Inner Sakura in outrage.

"Sakura-chan! I'm so sorry! This is all my fault! We shouldn't have eaten first!"

**_'Cha! You're telling me?' _**

"It's ok, I'll be fine." was Sakura's actual reply.

"Wash your face by the river, the water is fresh." he explained. She walked over to the river and gargled her mouth with water. She was splashing water on her face when she felt a weight drop on her back and saw Naruto dip his dirty shoes in the river in her peripheral vision. What Naruto had given her was a white towel, with a few dirt spots on it. She decided against using the towel to dry her face and instead just dabbed it on her clothes and wrapped it over her shoulders.

She made her way back over to Naruto. Who was moving a rock back into place.

"Naruto, did you hide this towel under a rock or something?"

"Sakura-chan! You're ready! Let's go!" he again grabbed her by the wrists and dragged her along, not answering her question.

_'Considering we're in the middle of a forest, he definitely did.'_ she realized. _'He really thought all this through, even having a towel prepared for me.' _she looked over at him sympathetically._ 'He didn't think much of himself though.' _she thought as she looked at her friend and saw that he was dripping wet, but lacking a towel of his own.

Naruto led her deep into the forest _(rejecting the towel everytime it was offered until Sakura forced him to stop and dry himself off)_ until the trees started changing. Sakura felt like she was in a dream. The large tall trees with thick trunks began to shrink into smaller skinnier trees. The leaves on the branches changed from reds, and yellows, and oranges to-

_'Pink... Sakura blossom trees.' _she thought in awe as she looked around at the beautiful scenery.

The Sakura petals were falling, swirling all around them as the wind blew. Naruto came to a bare spot in the trees where you could clearly see the night sky that brightly hung above the branches. He released her wrist and plopped down on the ground. Laying on his back, staring up at the sky.

"Naruto." she said as she plopped down lying beside him. "Why do you always grab my wrist instead of my hand when you try to drag me somewhere?" she asked curiously. Naruto stayed silent for a moment, mulling her question over as he absentmindedly started pulling up strands of grass from their roots.

"I guess I feel like every relationship should have milestones." he finally spoke. "You start somewhere until each person starts feeling more and more comfortable with each other, slowly broadening your boundaries." He smiled as he thought of Jiriya. "Once, Pervy Sage was trying to teach me how to summon a toad. So he let me do a bunch of things I should do before I died and then pushed me off a cliff to provoke me to use the Nine Tails chakra." he snickered at the memory. "One of the things he told me to do was hug the person I liked. Well I tried, and you ended up slipping. You were falling, and you almost landed right in my arms. But you wised up at the last second and punched me instead."

Sakura giggled. "I remember that."

"I feel like, I didn't get to hug you that day because we hadn't reached that stage in our relationship yet. And I decided no matter how much I loved you and wanted to be with you, that I would have to wait for you to control the boundaries."

They both turned their heads and looked at each other.

"Sakura-chan, I won't hold hands with you until you want me to."

"Naruto..." she sighed as she stared into his deep blue eyes, so much like the rushing waters of the river. She slid her arm out, over the grass, feeling the stars watch her as she lowered one of her boundaries.

"There." she declared smiling at the energetic ninja. "Now you're free to hold my hand whenever you please." she smiled softly at him, a light blush on her pale cheeks.

She settled in the grass with her knucklehead team mate and reveled in how content she was with how their date had turned out. This had been one of the best nights of her life, and it was thanks to Naruto. She wondered how different her night would've if it had been Sasuke with her instead of him.

_'For one thing, half the things that happened wouldn't have.'_ she thought of Naruto getting Ichiraku to make her favorite food, the beyond epic waterfall ride, leading her to a field of Sakura blossom trees.

_'Not to mention throwing up on him.'_ she blushed at the thought. She could only imagine what the Uchiha would've done if she had thrown up on _his_ shoes.

**_"You're so disgusting Sakura."_** she imagined him saying. **_"I knew I never should've gone on a date with someone as annoying as you." _**

The thought of his reaction was humiliating, and she was certainly glad she hadn't shared _that_ experience with him.

"Now it's my turn to ask a question." She heard Naruto's voice say, breaking her from her thoughts. Sakura nodded.

"Shoot." she replied.

"Why do you love Sasuke so much?" he asked.

On the other hand, Naruto had just shrugged it off and cleaned his feet in the river, and with the way he was just lying beside her, gazing at the stars as if he was perfectly content just being in her presence, he definitely didn't hold it against her. Throughout the time they had been team mates, she had become more and more aware of just how much he cared for her. Many times, especially during his fight with Gaara, Naruto had put his life on the line, completely throwing away his dream of becoming Hokage that was so special to him, just to save her and make sure she was safe. Naruto would go into a mission preaching about how one day he would become Hokage one second, and the next second he would be throwing himself in front of a poisoned kunai to save someone he cared about. It had helped Sakura realize that though his dreams and aspirations were important to him, his main priority was saving his friends and making sure the people he cared about were happy and safe. That was admirable, and this day had helped Sakura realize that maybe Naruto's feelings weren't so one-sided.

"You know what," she started as she turned her attention back to the night sky, the night's events replaying in her head as her fingers unconsciously curled a little tighter around Naruto's hand. "I'm not so sure anymore."

* * *

**Phew! It's done! That was fun to write! I hope I got their character's okay. **

**That part in the beginning where Naruto mentions how he and Sakura met and Sakura briefly described it was actually much longer. It was becoming long enough to become a fic of its own, so I copy and pasted what I wrote into its own document, and I'm probably going to turn it into a one-shot, so keep an eye out for that. **

**By the way, for the NaruSasu/SasuNaru fans that clicked on this story, sorry for there being very little to none in this chapter. This was introducing Sakura's feelings, because I hate when people start stories with no background. There will be just as much SasuNaru as NaruSaku in this story. I promise. **

**Not sure who or where Sakura's parents are, so I made them both Anbu ninjas to explain why they're _never there_. **

**Lastly, I have a few things to say about NaruHina. Not to offend any fan of that ship that clicked on this story, but I hate that ship. Nonetheless, it's not right to pretend Hinata's crush doesn't exist, so I will give this ship some kind of closure at some point because ignoring it is bad and biased writing. I still have to think of how I'm going to give it realistic closure though. **

**Please review because that's the only way I can improve my writing! Both compliments, suggestions, _and_ constructive criticism are both _highly_ appreciated. Hope you enjoyed!**

**Keep on Reading!**


	2. How Do I Feel?

**Hello readers! I just want to thank:**

**caralivy for subscribing;**

**carlaivy and BlueEyedGriyffindor for favoriting;**

**and kookieznkream for reviewing!**

**I really appreciate it, thank you so much!**

**Also, just to clarify, I changed the last chapter and took out the scene with the Sasuke and Sakura confrontation, so Sakura does not yet know Sasuke's feelings for Naruto, nor does she completely understand her own feelings for Naruto. **

**I've also changed the characters from Sakura and Sasuke to Naruto so SasuSaku fans don't get the wrong idea. **

**Hope you enjoy!**

Sasuke sat on the bench scowling as he crossed his arms in anticipation. After Sakura had asked Naruto out the day before, he nervously awaited the outcome. Did they have fun? Did they fall in love? Do they hate each other?

_'I doubt Naruto could ever hate Sakura.'_ he thought with a roll of his eyes. There were very few areas where Sasuke lost out to Sakura, one of them being chakra control. Something she had mastered in the first ten minutes of training took him days. Sasuke would admit that was her expertise and she was far better at it than him, though he'd never admit it _out loud_. Another thing she clearly beat him at was family. Sakura still had both her parents _and_ her grandparents on her mother's side, while he had no one. All Sasuke had was his maniac brother, who had been the one to kill everyone in the first place. He could also give her brains, and she definitely beat her out in loudness, but he _refused_ to let her beat him when it came to Naruto.

He had feelings for Naruto. He had realized it when they had their fight against Zabuza and Haku on the bridge. (He was jealous, he _refused_ to call it the Great Naruto Bridge, he almost _died_ on that bridge. It should be named after him.) After he had jumped in front of Haku's attack to protect Naruto, he had no idea what had come over him. He knew he wouldn't be able to kill his brother if he was dead, and for the longest time, staying alive and gaining power were his top priorities. But it wasn't until he was dying that he realized that for once, there was something he cared about more than killing his brother, and it was Naruto.

It had been hard to come to terms with his feelings, but they did win out eventually, but it seemed no matter what he wanted something stood in his way, and this time it was Sakura. Sakura had intelligence, Sakura had great chakra control, Sakura had a family, but she would not have Naruto.

Sasuke would seethe with envy every time he saw Naruto try to make a move on Sakura, especially since _every time_ she would brutally reject him. He couldn't say he hated Sakura for rejecting Naruto all the time since that would mean Naruto should hate him for rejecting Sakura all the time. He actually welcomed her rejection, since usually afterwards he had Naruto to himself.

His thoughts were interrupted when a heavy force flew on top of him, throwing him off the bench and onto the hard ground. He activated his Sharingan and prepared to fight his attacker when his eyes recognized the laughing figure that sat on top of him.

"Ha! You should've seen your face, teme!" his attacker was none other than the object of his affections, Naruto Uzumaki. "I swear I should've taken a picture!" he yelled, still laughing.

"Get _off_ me, dobe." he growled before roughly throwing the whisker-faced ninja off of him and standing to dust himself off. He tried to hide his blush as he tried not to think about the position they had just been in.

"Geez, teme. Do you need help pulling that pole out of your butt? What's got you so peeved?" asked Naruto with a raise of his blond eyebrow.

"Nothing you need to know about." he replied as he made his way back to his seat on the bench, arms crossed, face scowling.

"Whatever, Sasuke. Nothing you do can ruin my mood today!" he declared smiling brightly before hopping up from the ground and plopping himself down in the seat next to Sasuke.

"Sooo, aren't you gonna ask about last night?" he urged, eager to talk about the reason for his joy. His happiness inflated like a balloon.

"Wasn't planning on it." he replied curtly causing Naruto's face to fall as he felt Sasuke burst his bubble of joy.

"Come _on,_ Sasuke! Don't be such a teme! Ask me about last night!" he whined. Sasuke glanced at Naruto's pouting face and sighed. He gave in, rolling his eyes before asking the dreaded question.

"Fine, _dobe_. How was your date?" he asked indifferently, already knowing the answer. It _had_ to have been good, or Naruto would not have busted in so happily.

"You really wanna know? Well... ok, I'll tell you, but only because you asked." He rolled his eyes at Naruto replying as if Sasuke had _wanted_ to know the details.

"It went great! Better than I thought it would be! We had so much fun! I feel like we really connected, and..." he replied anxiously as he got a dreamy look on his face. "I think I finally won her over."

Sasuke quickly wiped the irritated scowl off his face so as not to make Naruto suspicious as to why he was so angered by his words. He replaced the scowl with a look of curiosity, which masked his eagerness for the blonde's reply.

"What do you like about her so much anyway?" he hoped that with this question, he could help Naruto see that the pink-haired kunoichi was annoying, had no redeeming qualities and that he was crazy for ever thinking he liked her in the first place. Yes it was wishful thinking, but you can't knock a guy for trying.

"Well that's easy!" Naruto exclaimed to Sasuke's dismay. "Besides being smart and beautiful, Sakura-chan is also determined and strong. I admire how when she wants to accomplish something, she puts her all into it, and when she cares for someone, she'd do anything in her power to protect them." he stated getting a far-away look.

"Also, sometimes my attraction to her can't really be explained. Sometimes it's just a feeling. When I'm with her, I feel like we are so close, nothing can stop us from being together forever. I get that feeling with you too sometimes." And he froze immediately after the words left his mouth. A blush flashed bright red on his tan cheeks as he realized what his statement implied, not noticing the triumphant smirk on his friends face.

"Well, with you I mean together as _friends_ of course! I wasn't implying anything like... like _that _with _you_ or anything. Heh heh." he tried to explain, overcome with embarrassment as his cheeks turned a dangerous shade of red and he nervously rubbed the back of his head.

"No no Naruto, It's alright. I _completely_ understand." he joked with a smirk as he saw Naruto's cheeks redden further.

"I barely like you as a friend Sasuke! Let alone anything more than a friend!" he replied adamantly. Sasuke easily hid his hurt by the words with a witty response.

"Really, because the fact that you _willingly _hang out with me and tell me _everything_ coupled on with your previous statement would make anyone else believe otherwise, Usuratonkatchi."

"Whatever, bastard, who cares what you think. I-" his statement was cut off by Sakura's shrill voice cutting through the air.

"Naruto-_kuuuun_!" she called to him, causing Sasuke to scowl and a sly smile to creep onto Naruto's face.

"And here comes the living, breathing proof of my _true_ sexual preference, teme." he shot back before sticking his tongue out childishly and turning to wave to the pink-haired kunoichi.

"Sakura-chan!" he cried happily making Sasuke want to gag. Sakura ran up to them smiling softly as she reached her teammates.

"Good Morning Naruto-kun, Sasuke." she said calmly.

"Yeah! In your face Sasuke! No _'kun'_ for you!" he cried happily before feeling the strange glances of his teammates on him, causing him to blush.

"I uh, I've been waiting for that for a really long time." was his sheepish reply. Sasuke scoffed.

"I have no care what honorifics Sakura chooses to, or not to use with my name." he declared, earning himself a glare from Naruto.

"Can't you at least pretend to be jealous?" Naruto exclaimed angrily.

"Fine." he stated before turning to Sakura with an uninterested expression. "Oh no. No _'kun'_ Sakura? How could you do this to me?" he asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he spoke.

"That was terrible pretending! You weren't even trying!" Sasuke rolled his eyes at his best friend's antics, holding in a smile.

"Well I'm sorry my acting wasn't up to par with your expectations." he apologized, again sarcastically.

Sakura rolled her eyes at the argument.

"I should've just added the 'kun'." she decided as Naruto and Sasuke continued to bicker, not seizing until the arrival of their sensei.

"You're late!" Naruto and Sakura jumped up suddenly, pointing accusatory fingers at the silver-haired jounin.

"Sorry, on my way here I saw a man using cheesy pick-up lines on women, so I gave him some tips from Icha Icha Paradise and helped him meet the love of his life."

"Liar!" they exclaimed in unison at their sensei's unlikely tale.

"Anyway, no missions today, so we'll be doing a special training exercise instead to help with your trust and teamwork." the eyes of the three genin widened as they saw their sensei pull three silver bells from his pocket. Memories of their first test ran through their minds as every move it's holder's handmade caused a light ring to erupt from the shining silver bells.

"You guys have grown a lot, especially since the Chunin exams, but your trust and teamwork still have a long way to go, so here is an exercise that will help you build some levels of trust with each other and teach you how to cooperate with one another."

"In this drill, there are three bells, which each of you have to get from me. As you have learned from the first time, working together is the only way to be successful. However, this time, instead of you being on offense and trying to snatch the bells away, you will be on defense. This will require you to protect yourselves and each other from my attacks while also trying to get as close to me as possible to get the bells." He smiled under his mask. "Any questions?" his reply was the silence of his genin team. "Great! Let's get started!" he said before disappearing into the trees.

"Alright! Let's go!" cried the hyperactive blond, preparing himself to jump into the trees after his sensei. He was blocked, however, by an arm reaching out, stopping him from completing his reckless actions. Naruto looked up, glaring when he saw that the hand belonged to none other than his rival, Uchiha Sasuke.

"Hey! What's the big idea?" his reply was a hard punch to the head, the strength of it causing him to fall forward and crash into the ground.

"S-sakura-chan... why?" he asked, feeling his brain rattle and a bruise forming on his head.

"Naruto! You're just as much of a baka as usual! Kakashi-sensei said in this training session we're on defense! The training grounds are probably already filled with traps and attacks!" she explained. "We need to be cautious and work as a team! You can't just run off and try to do everything by yourself!"

Sasuke nodded as he attempted to help Naruto off the ground, only to frown when he was swatted away and Naruto stood by himself.

"She's right, dobe; we don't have time to waste on your stupidity. We need a plan." he taunted, bitter from having been shooed away.

"Fine then I'll just use my Kage Bunshins to diffuse or deactivate all the traps." he said before giving them a haughty smile. "I bet you guys are just overreacting and there aren't even any traps."

His Bunshin took off into the trees, but almost immediately after landing on the first branch, it exploded on the spot due to having diffused a bomb hidden within it. Naruto sweat dropped as he saw his clone blown away, destroyed in a cloud of smoke.

_'What's Kakashi-sensei trying to do? Kill us?'_ he thought frantically before giving his comrades a nervous smile, sweating under the heat of their glares.

"Guess it's a pretty good thing I didn't run in there, right?" he said, imagining what it would be like if Sasuke hadn't stopped him, and it had actually been him instead of a clone. "Heh. Guess you guys were right." he admitted, nervously rubbing the back of his head.

"Just try not to get us killed Usuratonkachi." said Sasuke before activating his Sharingan and jumping into the trees, throwing kunai or shuriken on every branch he was about to land on before stepping on it. Sakura was about to follow after him before noticing the downcast look on Naruto's usually bright and smiling face. She sighed with guilt, realizing that she and Sasuke may have been a bit hard on him.

"Naruto, you're not a stupid kid. I mean, it was smart of you to use clones to deactivate the trap! I'm sure you have potential, but if you ever want to even _think_ about one day becoming a good Hokage, you need to learn to think things through." she suggested in an attempt to brighten his mood.

"Sakura-chan, are you saying you think I'll become Hokage?" he asked slyly, giving her a cocky smirk. Sakura's fist clenched at his accusation.

_'I give him a little constructive criticism and his head blows up.'_

"Let's just go." she ordered through gritted teeth before jumping into the trees after Sasuke.

Admitting she now liked Naruto had been so easy to admit last night. But it was like once she woke up this morning, she was confused. Did she really like _Naruto_? The baka she rejected on a _daily basis_ that have almost gotten them killed on multiple occasions with his rashness alone?

_'The baka that loves me no matter what and isn't afraid to show it? The baka that would lay his life down for me at the drop of a hat?'_

Maybe it was her pride, or the fact that she's liked Sasuke for so long, but something was making her confused about her feelings for Naruto.

And she was determined to figure out what.

* * *

The three genin landed on a clearing in the forest in search of their sensei. Almost immediately, the ground below them started to shake and kunai's shot themselves from the trees. Sasuke pulled out a shuriken and used it to deflect a kunai from hitting Naruto in the back. Naruto used shadow clones to protect his friends, he made fifteen clones. Five surrounded each of them, taking the hit of the kunai's, that would otherwise be piercing the flesh of his teammates, before harmlessly dissipating in a cloud of smoke.

When the kunai's stopped shooting from the trees, he dispersed his clones and received a small nod of approval from Sasuke.

"Good thinking Naru-" his sentence was interrupted by a hand reaching up from the ground and grabbing him by the ankles. It pulled him beneath the earth, leaving only his head to stay above the ground. Naruto and Sakura immediately jumped back into the trees to avoid meeting a similar fate.

"Not again." Sasuke grumbled as he struggled to resurface his body without the use of his hands or feet. He pouted; angered that he had fallen for the same trick from the first bell test.

"Ha! Teme! Not so tough now?" Naruto exclaimed, laughing. Though the last time this had happened Sakura had thought Sasuke was a talking decapitated head, now that she knew he was in fairly no harm or danger at all, she was able to acknowledge the humor in the situation and laugh along with Naruto.

"Will you _shut up_ and get me out of here!" Sasuke yelled as he struggled to get free of his earthly bounds.

"That's no way to talk to your only hope for freedom!" Naruto taunted with a cocky grin as he leaned against the trunk of the tree he was sitting on. However, almost immediately, three kunai shot out of nowhere in Sasuke's direction. His eyes widened as he realized he had no way of defending himself and he closed his eyes, praying the kunais would only graze his skin. He heard the sound of metal piercing through skin but was surprised when he didn't feel the pain that comes with it. He opened his eyes to find a wall of orange, that he recognized to be Naruto, blocking the path of the fatal kunai's. His eyes widened in surprise, then squinted in anger at the realization that he had just had to be saved by the blond dobe while he was left completely defenseless.

"You shouldn't waste time with pointless jokes like that Naruto, it gives the enemy an opening, and puts your teammates in danger." Kakashi lectured. Everyone turned to him to see him calmly sitting on the branch of a tree as he watched his genin team below.

"You shouldn't waste time with pointless lectures, Kakashi-sensei; it gives me an opening to steal your bells!" Naruto replied from behind him successfully snatching all three bells from the belt of the silver-haired Jonin. Kakashi's eyes widened as the clone of Naruto that he had mistaken for the actual one, disappeared before his eyes and the real Naruto crept behind him and ended the training with the swipe of his bells.

"WooHoo! Go Naruto!" cheered Sakura from atop her own tree branch, causing a wide smile to light up his features.

"One for me," he said, referring to the bells he had acquired. "One for you," he continued, throwing a bell up to Sakura, which she caught successfully. He walked over to a pouting Sasuke and looked down at him, smirking at his pitiful predicament.

"And one for you." he said, dropping the remaining bell on Sasuke's head. It bounced off his head, rolling a few inches away when it landed on the ground.

"Wow Naruto, very good job." praised Kakashi as he jumped down from his perch atop the tree branch. "You're getting a lot better at using your Shadow Clones for strategy," he said with a blush. "I'll admit, you took me by surprise, I didn't expect that from you." Sakura jumped down from her branch as well, causing Kakashi's attention to shift from Naruto to the team as a whole.

"Naruto, your skills have improved, but your teamwork still needs a lot of work. A team doesn't consist of you and your clones." He looked pointedly at Sakura and Sasuke. "And that goes for all of you. Sasuke, it was good that you protected Naruto with your shuriken during the first kunai attack, but you somewhat neglected Sakura. You also need to constantly be on watch, because if you're not, well, you'll end up in situations a lot like the one you're in now." he advised, causing Sasuke to pout further.

"And Sakura," he started, turning to the pink-haired girl. "You can't rely on your teammates to be there to protect you. A lot of the time, especially when you split up in missions, you'll be on your own. You need to be able to defend yourself. Also, when Naruto taunted Sasuke when he fell for my trap, you should have urged him to quickly save Sasuke, but you only laughed alongside him." he said, earning a 'hmph' from Sasuke and causing Sakura to drop her head in shame.

"You're right Kakashi-sensei... I apologize."

Kakashi nodded before returning his attention to the team as a whole.

"We will continue this training until your teamwork and defense skills are near perfect. For now, you're free to go." He said with a smile before stomping on the ground, releasing Sasuke from his earth trap and disappearing in a cloud of smoke. The three genin stood around awkwardly. Sasuke dusted off his clothes, Naruto scratched his head, and Sakura played with a loose string on the end of her dress. They actually stood there for a good minute before Sakura broke the silence.

"Why is it so awkward today?" she asked, realizing usually something happens after every practice.

"Well, this is about the time you ask Sasuke on a date, Sakura-chan." stated Naruto. "Then after he rejects you, I ask you, and you reject me and go home. Then Sasuke and I argue about_ 'why he always rejects you so harshly'_, and '_why I pathetically fawn all over you'_ which usually ends in a spar that turns into harmless training." Naruto explained, before smiling brightly. "And then we get ramen together!" he exclaimed happily before frowning slightly in confusion. "But you're kind of killing the flow today, Sakura. Are you planning on asking Sasuke-teme out anytime soon?" he asked in confusion.

"Well... I don't wanna ask out Sasuke-kun today..." she admitted causing Sasuke to roll his eyes, while Naruto's widened in surprise."

"R-really?" he asked, his voice filled with hope.

"Well then let's just skip straight to training! Let's go, Naruto." Sasuke said, grabbing Naruto by the wrist and dragging him to their usual spot, wiping away Naruto's hopeful gaze.

"O-oh, well then see you tomorrow, Sakura-chan!" he called to her, letting himself be dragged away by the Uchiha. "Sasuke, say bye to Sakura-chan." Naruto ordered.

"Hn." Sasuke grunted, causing Naruto to roll his eyes. "Good enough."

"W-wait!" Sakura called causing Sasuke's body to tense and Naruto to turn in question. "Do you think I could come train with you guys today?" she asked, not realizing how left out she's been. Every day, after she's gone out to go cry about Sasuke, they've been here training together. She didn't realize how much her crush on Sasuke had been holding her back.

"Sure thing, Sakura-chan!" invited Naruto, excitedly, not even letting Sasuke get his two cents in. Sasuke clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. After training, sparring sessions were the only time he had to spend alone with Naruto, and now the pink-haired nuisance had to come and ruin everything like she always did.

He opened his mouth to protest, but immediately closed it. It was useless. Naruto loved her; he would clearly be very excited about her coming with them. He frowned in confusion as he saw Naruto grab Sakura's hand and lead her to their training spot. What had happened last night that they could now be ahead of him, laughing, walking hand in hand? So much had changed in just one night.

"Here we are!" Naruto exclaimed, finally releasing Sakura's hand causing Sasuke to sigh in relief.

"Hey! Look teme!" Naruto said as he pointed to a tree with a kunai. Hanging off the kunai was a blood-stained orange piece of cloth that greatly resembled that of Naruto's jumpsuit. "There's the kunai from yesterday when you almost killed me!" he exclaimed with a laugh.

"Wow!" Sakura said with a nervous blush. "That means you guys must put your all into these training sessions."

"Yup! I would never hold back fighting this kono yaro." he explained, gesturing to Sasuke.

"Yeah." Sasuke taunted. "Sometimes we get really violent. You sure you can handle it?" he attempted to scare her, but this only hardened her resolve to stay.

"Of course I can handle it!"

"That's the spirit Sakura-chan!" Naruto encouraged. "So who do you wanna spar first?" he asked, unknowingly causing a lump to form in Sakura's throat. She knew she wasn't strong enough to face-off against Sasuke or Naruto. Sasuke was a prodigy, and Naruto beat Gaara and Neji. What chance did she have? She remembered her vow during the Chunin Exams. She had to get stronger so, if necessary, she'd always be able to protect herself and her teammates.

"I think I'll just watch you guys spar first, and then I'll get some pointers." she suggested. Sometimes the best way to learn was by sitting back and watching. The two boys nodded before turning to face each other. Naruto sent Sasuke a determined glare to which Sasuke responded with his own frightening red-eyed glare. The stand-off didn't last long as Naruto's patience ran thin and he charged towards Sasuke, making two shadow clones as he ran. Naruto and his kunai-wielding clones all attacked Sasuke at once. He skillfully avoided their attacks, jumping into the trees and making the hand signs for his Fire Release Jutsu. He blasted Naruto with his flames and Sakura's eyes widened as she saw Naruto and his clones disappear within the flames.

"Naruto!" she cried out desperately as she searched for him through the fire. She glared up at Sasuke who squinted at his handiwork, with suspicion. Just as she was about to yell at him for killing their teammate, she saw a flash of orange shoot through the trees and slam into Sasuke from behind, knocking him from his perch atop the branch.

She watched as the two boys fell to the ground, landing among the burning soil. The flames began to dissipate allowing Sakura to see Naruto straddling Sasuke, smirking down at his vulnerable sparring partner. Sakura cringed as she saw Naruto deliver a hard punch to the right side of Sasuke's face. His victory was short lived, however, as Sasuke threw Naruto off of him and swiftly pulled a kunai out of his pouch. He threw it at the blond boy, who came to his senses just in time to roll away from the attack, resulting in a deep gash in his arm as opposed to a fatal blow to his heart.

Sakura gulped as she watched the intense battle. She had always been so busy watching Sasuke, she hadn't realized how equally matched they were. She surely couldn't pick sides and she was biting her fingernails as she watched, and waited for one of them to get the upper hand. She saw the energy of both boys depleting, but their determination to win was as high as when they started.

She looked up at the sky, and her eyes widened when she saw how late it was. Based on the position of the sun, they had been fighting for two hours, and she hadn't noticed. Soon they would both pass out from chakra exhaustion.

"Alright guys, I think that's enough." she declared, catching Naruto's attention. This gave Sasuke a chance to pounce on Naruto while he was distracted and get the upper hand. He hung over Naruto with a smirk as he held a kunai to his neck, until suddenly the boy under him dispersed into a cloud of smoke. He barely had time to react when he was pounced on by his whisker-face friend. Naruto now laid on top of Sasuke as he held him in a choke hold.

"_I said that's enough!_" Sakura screamed at the two boys who finally acknowledged her presence. This caused Naruto to smirk down at the Uchiha in his grasp.

"Fine by me." he said before releasing the Sharingan wielder from his grip and dusting himself off as he made his way over to his pink-haired crush. "Yeah! I win! I win!" he gloated happily.

"Tch. Barely. The spar was cut short, it doesn't count."

"Don't be such a sore loser teme, I won and you know it."

"Whatever, dobe. Think what you want." he retorted, crossing his arms grudgingly. Naruto just stood and stared at him. At first he was ignored, but Sasuke's irritation grew the longer he felt Naruto's gaze on him.

"What?"

"You _know_ what, teme. We have a deal." he stated confidently. Sasuke blushed and gave Sakura a weary look.

"You can't be serious."

"Serious as I ever was." he said, lifting his arms. Now Sakura was extremely curious. What was Naruto requesting that got Sasuke so flustered? She got her answer when Sasuke walked over to Naruto and picked him up, bridal style. His entire face was red as he carried Naruto through the forest in the direction of the village. Sakura almost passed out from shock while Naruto glanced at Sasuke curiously.

"What's the big deal, kono yaro. You've never had a problem before?"

"Well, yeah, but this time we have... company." he said, glancing wearily at Sakura from the corner of his eyes. Sakura had to admit, this was both amusing and disturbing at the same time.

"It's the same thing every time. I win; you carry me and pay for dinner. If you weren't such a loser, you wouldn't be in this predicament." Naruto teased causing Sasuke to frown. Sakura blushed, completely uncomfortable with the current situation. She would forever be scarred by the image of Naruto in Sasuke's arms, and her face turned green as she imagined the inverted version of their current.

"So, um... when Sasuke wins, do you have to..." Sasuke immediately adopted a look of disgust at the insinuation, while Naruto just smirked.

"No way! When he wins, he makes me carry him and buy him Ichiraku, and when I win, we eat something _other_ than ramen."

"So you guys do this every time Naruto wins a match."

"Tch. The occasion is so rare; I barely have to put myself through this. He just got lucky today." Sasuke grumbled in defiance.

"Maybe Sakura-chan's my good luck charm." Naruto flirted, giving Sakura his trademark foxy grin.

"I'm sorry Naruto, I can't take you seriously while you're being carried by Sasuke like that." she admitted. Naruto frowned before he jumped out of Sasuke's arms.

"Piggy-back me, Sasuke." Naruto ordered. Sasuke sighed, grumbling multiple,_ 'I hate my life's'_ under his breath as the blond boy climbed onto his back and he grabbed his legs to support him.

"Is this better, Sakura-chan?" The hyperactive ninja asked smiling at her, hoping she approved of his new position. She shook her head and gave a small shiver as she saw the new position her teammates were in.

"Nope. Still weird." she declared. The blond frowned and hopped off the Uchiha's back, angered at the outcome of the situation.

"Fine, I'll just walk then." he grumbled, stomping angrily ahead of his teammates.

Sakura looked over at Sasuke and received a curt nod, which she assumed was his way of saying thank you.

"But it's still Ichiraku! Sasuke's treat!" he called behind him before running ahead to his favorite food stand. Sakura smiled at his retreating form as she thought about how refreshing his childish demeanor is in comparison with their harsh ninja lives. She looked over at Sasuke expecting him to be glaring at Naruto or rolling his eyes at him immaturity. She was surprised to look over and see him smiling as well, very slightly, but still smiling all the same.

* * *

When they caught up to Naruto and entered the small shop, they were surprised to see him already on his fourth bowl of ramen. He smiled back at his friends as he gulped down his meal.

"Hey! Naruto, there's your lady friend! She's with that Uchiha guy you like to rant about." Teuchi said, causing Naruto to turn in his seat with a smile.

"Sakura-chan! Eat up! Dinner's on Sasuke!" he exclaimed happily before he resumed the slurping of his beloved Ramen. Sakura giggled at his antics while Sasuke crossed his arms and 'hmphed' at the blond boy. They sat down on either side of the blue-eyed boy and ordered their meals, eating while engaging in pleasant conversation. Naruto had eight bowls of Ramen, while Sasuke and Sakura both only had one. Sasuke paid for the ten bowls, grudgingly and they left the shop, satisfied.

"That was really fun guys." Sakura stated with a smile. She felt closer to her team than she ever had after that day. Sasuke stood with his arms crossed, still a little cross for losing and having to pay for dinner. Naruto smiled brightly back at her, his face an emotionless mask. Naruto smiled brightly back at her, his face looking as elated as if he had just been deemed Hokage.

"Glad you thought so Sakura-chan! You should hang out with us more often, right Sasuke?" he asked, looking over at his scowling friend.

"Hn." was his curt reply, making it impossible to know what he meant.

"He's just a little tired." Naruto explained. "He usually gets a little grumpy this time of the day. Sasuke just needs his nappy-poo." he joked, throwing his arm over Sasuke's shoulders and pinching his cheek.

"Quit it, Usuratonkatchi!" he growled as he pushed the blond away, the smallest of smiles, just barely apparent on his pale face.

"Make me, teme!" Naruto exclaimed, chasing Sasuke with his hands in pinching position.

Sakura watched as the two boys goofed around, and couldn't remember the last time she had seen Sasuke so happy. It was one of those moments where she felt completely left out from the two boys, like they were their own little section of Team 7, and she had no idea how to be a part of it. It was like they had this special bond that could never be shared with her.

It wasn't until Naruto was sitting on Sasuke, pinching his face, as Sasuke struggled beneath him, that Sakura decided to make her presence known.

"You guys, I think I'm gonna go home now." she declared.

"Get _off_ me dobe!"

"You're gonna have to do better than that, teme."

"What have you been eating? I can't breathe!"

"Eight bowls of ramen, and proud of it!"

"Guys!" she called a little louder, this time getting their attention as the two boys ripped their gazes away from each other to look up at her from the ground.

"I was just saying I'm ready to go home." she explained. She and Naruto's homes were in the same direction, so while he hung out with Sasuke after training every day, he usually walked her homes after missions. She assumed however, that since they had stayed together after training, he would walk he home, this time too. She really wanted some alone time with Naruto, so she could sort out her feelings for him. Their date last night had made her so confused. She knew if she got a little time alone with him, she would be able to decide whether or not she was in love with him.

For the longest time she had hated him, blaming all her failure in romantic advances on him. She thought she wasn't with Sasuke-kun because he always got in the way. He had been no more than a nuisance. But since they had become teammates, she had started to see him as a person. She saw how selfless he was, she saw how far he would go for his friends, she saw how determined he was to become powerful and gain respect from the village. She acknowledged him, and vowed to always encourage him and become strong enough to protect him and Sasuke. She slowly started to like him more and more, their relationship developed from a one-sided crush, to mutual friendship, and now, she might be falling for him.

She needed this time alone with him. The way she feels for him, something about it is different from how she views Sasuke.

"Oh! Sorry Sakura-chan!" Naruto apologized as he lifted himself off of the dark-haired Uchiha.

"Bye Sasuke-kun!" She called behind her as she turned to walk home, excited to figure things out with Naruto. She took a few steps before realizing Naruto was not following behind her.

"You coming Naruto?" she asked as she looked back at the blond boy that had caused her heart so much confusion.

"Oh, sorry. Not today Sakura-chan. I'm going with Sasuke to the rooftop. It's just something we do after training every day, but I can walk you home on our next mission." he explained, the smallest hint of guilt evident in his voice at having to leave Sakura.

"Oh... Ok, well, see you tomorrow." She said sadly before turning away. She almost laughed at the irony of being rejected by Naruto, after all the times she had done the same to him. He deserved it; it was his revenge for all the broken hearts she had caused him.

"Or you can come with us." he offered. Because, then again, when had Naruto ever really been one for revenge?

"Really?"

"Totally! I mean, it doesn't have to be a me and Sasuke thing. We can make it a Team 7 thing! Besides, who knows what'll happen if I spend too much time alone with this kono yaro." he said, nudging Sasuke's shoulder, playfully. Though Sasuke looked far from amused at the news of the pink-haired nuisance _yet again_ intruding on time that he and Naruto would usually spend alone.

Sakura smiled, and ran back to the sides of her two friends. She stood between them, Naruto on her right and Sasuke on her left. She had never realized how much time Naruto and Sasuke spent together. She hoped maybe someday, they could all naturally spend this time together as a team.

* * *

Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura all lay on the rooftop in comfortable silence. They all had taken off their forehead protectors and their hair blew freely in the afternoon breeze. Everyone was winding down and entering their drowsy relaxed state of mind. It was strange for Sakura, she had never seen Naruto so calm, nor Sasuke so carefree. Both Naruto's ever-present overzealous grin and Sasuke's constant scowl had winded down to serene smiles. At times she would see the boys just look over at each other and smile before looking back up at the sun setting behind the Hokage tower. Sometimes she felt like she was intruding on their moment and thought about leaving. She soon realized they were ignoring her anyways and that this was the first time she'd ever be able to see them acting so differently from their usual selves.

The pinks and oranges of the sky really were beautiful, but she soon got bored and decided her time was better spent watching the two boys to her left. Naruto, who was closest to her, was dosing off. His bright hair and beautiful eyes seemed to gleam in the reflection of the setting sun. He looked almost angelic, dosing off like a small child, up past their bedtime. She had the strange urge to hold him, or hug him, tell him _"sweet dreams"._

He was adorable, to say the least.

She looked past him at her other teammate, and was surprised to find him also watching the drowsy blond. He was propped up on an elbow, his dark eyes looked at him with fondness and longing, a look she had never seen on the Uchiha, and had hoped she'd see directed to her. She had no such desires anymore and realized her crush on the black-eyed boy was fading. Not gone, but fading.

Her eyes almost burst out of their sockets as she saw Sasuke reach out and quickly brush his fingers through Naruto's hair, as if entranced by it. She blushed as she realized she now had the desire to do the same. Naruto's blond locks looked so soft...

"Sasuke..." Naruto muttered, nearly half-asleep. "I'm gonna... be Hokage."

"I know." she heard Sasuke whisper with what could only be described as a tone of endearment.

"And you'll avenge your clan, and we'll still be best friends." he added, his eyes now completely closed and his breath beginning to even out.

"Yeah... yeah, we will." he said with a nod and a content smile, his own eyes drooping with the notion of slumber.

"And I'll be married to Sakura, and we'll all be happy." he finished, his statement unknowingly causing Sasuke to stiffen, promptly wiping the rare smile off his face. Before she had time to turn to the sky and pretend she hadn't heard, Sasuke's eyes shot up to look at her. They squinted slightly, hints of embarrassment and denial in them. She knew he was inwardly berating himself for letting his guards down in front of her. There was something else hinted in his expression, something she couldn't quite place.

"Sasuke?" both pairs of eyes shot back to Naruto. His eyes were crumpled in confusion, and a small frown was on his child-like features at not hearing the Uchiha affirm his latest statement as he had done the others. His hand was tightly gripping the hem of Sasuke's shirt, eagerly awaiting his attention and comfort.

"Right, you'll be... married to Sakura, and we'll all... be happy." he muttered half-heartedly. Naruto smiled and gave a small nod before releasing him and finally succumbing to his tiredness. Sasuke looked back up at Sakura, this time, his face an emotionless mask. She wanted to assure him that she didn't think any lower of him, that she thought his gestures were... sweet. But she didn't, she didn't know why, she just silently watched him as he stared at her, his black eyes seeming to pierce into her soul. His walls were back up and she no longer saw any trace of the endearing smile she had seen moments before.

Suddenly, he seemed to make a decision and he broke their gaze. He turned back to Naruto and lifted him into his arms. Holding the blond close to him, he hopped from the rooftop with cat-like grace. It had happened so fast, Sakura had barely been able to process it. She looked down the road in the direction of Naruto's apartment. Sasuke was walking with the sleeping boy in his arms, Naruto's head resting carelessly on his shoulder, and it was different from before. Earlier, it had been weird and disturbing to see the two boys in such a position. Now, it was sweet, and loving, a thoughtful gesture, carrying a sleeping friend home. Naruto's innocent, dreaming face, Sasuke's protective, adoring gestures. The way their masks just fell at the end of the day and they contently just _existed_ with each other under the setting sun. It truly was something special. She was jealous of their bond, and at the same time, she admired it.

She remembered Sasuke's look of embarrassment and denial when Naruto spoke of marrying her. It also had a hint of something else. Something she couldn't quite put her finger on. That look in his eyes...

It was Jealousy.

**Yay! Long Chapter! 7,476 words! And we got some SasuNaru today, as well as NaruSaku. God, I'm so conflicted over these ships, I love them both so much!**

**I just want to add that since I love both NaruSaku and SasuNaru, there will be _no_ ship bias. Some chapters will have more of one ship than the other (For example, last chapter had more NaruSaku and this one had more SasuNaru.) but they will both be equal until Naruto chooses.**

**There will be some NaruHina closure on Hinata's part because I don't like when authors ignore characters. Hinata has a crush on Naruto and I know it! Therefore, I must acknowledge it. We need to clear that up and we will, though probably not for a little while. **

**If you have any ideas, please don't be afraid to share! If you have any cute date scene ideas please let me know!**

**This story starts out very light-hearted, but it gets much deeper as it continues. **

**Review! Tell me what ships you like! Tell me what you like about the story, or what you hated! Point out grammar and spelling errors! Please, because I really want to improve as a writer and therefore I need the constructive criticism and support. I have so many great ideas for this story, and I want it to be good, but I can't do it without you! **

**Hope you enjoyed!**

**Keep on Reading**


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